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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. ground — a position
  5. swing — in golf
  6. band — a music group
  7. ground — crushed
  8. swing — to play on
  9. swing — music
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. band — a ring
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. ground — the earth
  14. degree — temperature
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. scale — in music
  17. degree — an amount
  18. bulb — for light
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. scale — size or range
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. degree — from a university
  24. snap — to click

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com